Cassidy's Lackey
by Detective Desires
Summary: Teenage lab assistant Sonya Clearwater accidentally becomes a member of Team Rocket! How will the young Pokemon trainer's life be affected by this decision? This story is back temporarily if you want to download it. Message me if you maybe want to continue it. I don't know if I'm going to.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to its affiliates-Nintendo, Game Freak, Warner Entertainment, etc.

* * *

"Prepare for trouble!"

It was an ordinary day in the life of the two Rockets. Today, they were staging a heist at a laboratory for Dr. Namba's research. There wasn't much to get in their way, either, just a wimpy doctor and his teenage assistant. Butch and Cassidy easily subdued the doctor, and now it was the assistant's turn.

The girl was reacting like scared prey, she ducked behind the desk and pressed a panic button.

Cassidy watched the girl like a hungry animal and calmly gave a play-by-play.

"Oh, I think you'll find calling for help isn't going to be that easy..." Cassidy said as she held up the severed wires.

The doctor's assistant hid under his desk; she was visibly shaking. Her hand grasped a Poké Ball and enlarged it.

Out popped a Pikachu.

Cassidy looked at it and laughed.

"If you think that will beat us...I think you've got the wrong Rockets..." Cassidy said as Butch stopped what he was doing to give a confident laugh. Cassidy and Butch spent a second silently shared their little inside joke and exchanged knowing glances at each other. Those three were so stupid and incompetent, but at least they were good for a laugh.

"Pikachu!" the girl began.

Swiftly, Cassidy pulled out a Poké Ball, and Drowzee appeared.

The girl was so shocked to see the huge psychic Pokémon that she almost forgot to yell her command.

"Th-Thundershock!" the girl yelled, her voice shaking.

"Disable!" Cassidy said calmly.

As Pikachu was charging, it was enveloped with a strange blue light. The Pokémon had a shocked and scared expression on its face.

"Psychic attack; drain its energy!" Cassidy commanded.

Within seconds, the little Pikachu was completely drained of energy. The lab assistant watched in horror as her Pikachu struggled to stand. She shakily called it back.

Cassidy studied her nervous expression.

"If I were you, I would quit while I were ahead," Cassidy said.

Shakily, the girl readied another Poké Ball.

Cassidy confidently walked up to her, high heeled shoes clicking as she walked.

Wordlessly, she directed her Drowzee to take the Poké Ball from the young woman using another disable attack. Cassidy smiled when she heard the assistant let out a surprised yelp.

Cassidy knelt down so that she was eye level with the crouching assistant. Her cold piercing violet eyes met the large fearful doe eyes of the assistant.

"Looks like I won this round," Cassidy said as she snatched the Poké Ball away and shrunk it.

"Give me back my Raichu!" the assistant yelled.

Cassidy turned put her finger to her chin and briefly looked thoughtful, like she was seriously considering.

"Um, let me think about that...um...no." Cassidy said sarcastically as she walked back to help Butch with the rest of the raid.

* * *

The doctor's assistant Sonya Clearwater's mind was racing. She just sat under the desk in a fetal position, clutching her knees and wailing. Her fear was more than visible, as she was shaking, sweating, and crying like she was being tortured.

Cassidy walked over to the girl and kicked her in the knee. It was a hard sharp kick, and Sonya felt a burning pain. It made her cry all the more.

"Keep that up and we'll give you something to really cry about!" Butch threatened as he continued to take the lab apart.

"Oh, I think I know how to handle crybaby here..." Cassidy said as she flashed the girl a wicked smile. Her tone was confident and dangerous.

Sonya heard the cocking of a pistol and felt the cold metal pressed against her forehead. She struggled to stop sobbing and comply but her body just wouldn't allow her; she was so afraid. She felt her assailant leaning in closer; she felt her hot breath on her skin and tried to break contact with the piercing gaze of her violet eyes.

"I don't blame you; I would probably be reacting the same way if I were in your little situation, but try to keep it down, okay?" Cassidy said in a tone that was almost playful.

Sonya heard her walk away again. She finally got the courage to look around. She couldn't believe what she saw.

 _She left the gun!_ Sonya thought, a feeling of elation sweeping over her. Shakily, she took it in her hands.

She released the safety on the gun with a click. She didn't want to chance confronting the Rockets and instead opted to escape. She crept away as silently as she could, leaving the doctor tied up. She just made it to the door when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She swallowed hard.

"Uh-uh-ah...I can't have you running off to the police while we're in the middle of a heist, now, can I?" Cassidy asked in the same calm playful mocking tone she had used earlier.

Predictably, the girl pulled the gun and held it up to Cassidy.

Cassidy laughed and snatched it away. Then, she calmly pressed it to the girl's temple. The girl heard her squeeze the trigger. She crouched down and shivered, just waiting for the inevitable end.

"Bang!" Cassidy said, squeezing the trigger.

Instead of a deafening blast and sharp pain, Sonya felt a little bop on her head. Sonya dropped to her knees and started sobbing again.

"Come on! Do you really think I'm dumb enough to leave you with a loaded gun?" Cassidy scolded.

The assistant looked up long enough to see Cassidy carelessly toss the weapon aside.

Sonya hugged the corner of the desk she was hiding under; they were toying with her like a Meowth with a Rattata. She bit her lip and tried to hold back her tears.

* * *

Cassidy was kind of hoping that her playful attitude would relax her hostage at least a little. After all, you can only feel like you're in danger for so long before you kind of get the point.

She looked at her shattered victim with a puzzled expression and then hid another smile. There was something amusing about her frightened overreaction. Part of Cassidy wanted to calm her down, not just for the sake of the heist, but for her own sake as well.

 _This poor kid; she's acting like this is going to be her last day on earth. If she keeps it up, it may very well be!_ Cassidy thought.

She paused and heard the labored sobs and heavy breathing.

Cassidy knelt down again and gently put her hand over her victim's mouth.

"Look, if I wanted you dead, that's what you'd be now..." Cassidy said in a disinterested matter-of-fact way.

Her victim whimpered in response.

"...so...try to calm down, okay?" Cassidy said flatly.

Cassidy walked away only to be greeted by the sound of frantic wailing once again.

Okay...that does it. This time, it's just melodrama. Cassidy said to herself with an eye roll and a sigh. She quickly searched the lab for a vial that could probably remedy the situation in a cleaner fashion.

Her gaze fell on a sparkling blue and white powder, and she smiled when she read its label.

Ah, sleep powder... Cassidy said to herself with an inward purr.

* * *

Sonya tried to comply with the criminal's request to stay quiet, but so many horrible thoughts were racing through her mind that she just couldn't get herself to cooperate.

She knew she had to somehow escape or she might not make it out alive. She was certain they wouldn't want to leave a witness to their crimes. She bit her lip and waited, her heart was pounding. She let out more loud labored sobs, completely losing herself in her fear. She decided to scramble for the door again.

Once more, just as her fingers touched the handle, a strong arm pulled her back, fingernails lightly dug into her skin.

This time, her captor just sighed and quickly grabbed her by the wrists.

"Come with me..." Cassidy said sweetly, fiddling the little vial in her free hand.

Sonya was led to the doctor's private office and told to take a seat on the couch. She nervously complied.

Her captor made a dramatic pose, almost like a dancer, as she opened the vial and threw its contents into the assistant's face.

"Nighty night!" Cassidy cooed.

The assistant held her breath and kept crying. Cassidy watched the tears form and the look of absolute terror on the girls' face. At first, Cassidy rolled her eyes, but then the girl's struggling started to get to her.

Sonya caught a mischievous look in the eye of her captor. She soon felt herself being tickled. Panicked, the assistant started laughing, gasping, and unintentionally breathing in the powder.

Cassidy dusted herself off; the deed was done.

"Like I said earlier, nighty night!" Cassidy said, flashing another mischievous smile.

Sonya had no idea what she inhaled and she again feared the worst. She started shaking and sobbing in a panic.

Cassidy walked over to her and gave her a firm slap.

"Quiet!" Cassidy whispered. The crying stopped for just a few seconds, while Cassidy was trying to retrieve the keys the doctor kept in his office.

There was soon more helpless whimpering coming from the assistant.

Cassidy took her shaking victim by the hands and just held her there.

"Shhhh..." Cassidy shushed her in a low soft voice. It was almost motherly, and it sent little chills over Sonya's skin. She appeared to calm down.

Cassidy continued searching for the keys, occasionally noticing her non-sleeping victim whimpering on the couch. The crying was terribly distracting, each tortured whimper piercing right through her. There wasn't much of that she could stand. The sleep powder should have already taken effect.

She walked over to her victim and sat next to her.

"You're pretty needy, you know that?" Cassidy asked, the same playful tone in her voice.

Sonya felt herself being pulled close to her captor. She flinched and shook.

"Just relax...I'm not doing anything bad..." Cassidy said with a laugh as she stroked her victim's hair and gently massaged her shoulder.

Sonya was surprised at how well she was taking to it. Even though she didn't trust the situation, she felt herself relaxing. Her shivering subsided as she felt the gentle touches and listened to the soft voice of her captor.

"That's it; deep breaths..." The voice in her ear was low and soothing. Sonya felt herself yawning and getting sleepy. She suddenly went limp and felt herself falling into her captor's lap. She met Cassidy's soft violet eyes and yawned again.

Cassidy laughed, but this time it didn't sound nearly as scary as it did earlier.

Lazily, she removed a lock of hair that fell into her victim's face.

Drowsily, Sonya continued to regard her captor.

"Like I said, it's nap time...don't keep fighting it..." Cassidy said in a whisper, continuing to stroke her scared victim's hair.

The thought of running never crossed Sonya's drowsy mind. Soon, she was struggling to keep her eyes open. She continued to feel someone gently stroking her hair as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

"There, that's not so bad, is it?" she heard her captor whisper. The voice was low and lilting, almost musical.

Sonya felt herself being gently shifted as her captor got up. Moist lips briefly pressed against her forehead, and she heard a soft, "good night." She also felt the gloved hands of her captor against her skin as she pulled something warm over her. Sonya couldn't move at this point; the sleeping solution had already caused her to slip mostly out of consciousness, but she could still hear her captor singing softly and walking around in the office; she was still getting little chills from the sound of her soft voice.

"All done here..." the soft playful voice said.

After she heard the door open, she felt someone take her hand and stick something in to it. It was round and heavy, like a Poké Ball.

"I really didn't need this," she heard her captor say.

Finally, Sonya heard the door close. A smile crept on to her face as the last traces of consciousness faded away. She somehow knew that everything was going to be okay.

* * *

As Sonya awoke feeling peaceful and refreshed, the world slowly came back into focus.

Her Raichu was on the floor anxiously babbling about something. A quick check revealed that she still had all of her Pokemon, but the lab was a mess. The doctor and several research items were nowhere to be found. She promptly notified the authorities and was informed that someone already called in a lead several hours ago. She sat rubbing her temples, breathing deeply, and thanking her lucky stars she was still alive.

Sonya sat up and clutched her Raichu tightly in her arms.

"Team Rocket..." she said after a shocked breath.

"Raichu,"

"We...we're lucky to be alive..." Sonya said as the full realization of what happened hit her.

"Chu..."

Sonya immediately checked herself into the emergency room and checked her Pokemon into a Pokemon center. The doctor informed her that she had inhaled pure sleep powder and she was going to be okay as long as she didn't make a habit out of it. She was also treated for some minor cuts and bruises.

Nurse Joy informed her that her Pokemon looked weak and tired and needed some vitamins and a good rest.

They eventually found the doctor, too. He was a little roughed up and shaken, but other than that, he was okay.

After they were sure the police were doing everything they could, things returned, more or less back to normal, at least from Sonya's perspective. The Rockets stole equipment that was easily replaced.

The doctor Sonya worked for, on the other hand, was extremely concerned about the theft, even though they recovered most of the software and equipment and were able to resume running tests. Security was strengthened. A special pass code was now required to get in or out, and security cameras lined the perimeters and halls of the lab.

They also had a wireless panic button installed.

The rest of the week passed without incident, but Sonya couldn't stop going back there in her dreams.

They weren't nightmares, exactly. They were oddly pleasant dreams. She was spared by someone who could have easily taken her life, and she replayed the incident again and again, trying to imagine her motive for letting her go.

Cassidy's sweet voice and piercing violet eyes became a source of comfort in the young girl's imagination. She had dreams of being caught, kissed, and spoken to with motherly affection. She started to view the Rocket not as some criminal but more like some kind of strange protector lurking in the shadows.

 _She must lead such an amazing life_. Sonya thought to herself, as she imagined Cassidy, with her confident smile and cool Pokémon moves.

Raichu cooed, oblivious to the thoughts his master was having, as Sonya petted him.

So much different than what I'm doing. Sonya thought with a sigh as she fetched a broom to sweep the lab.

"Rai! Rai!" Raichu cooed as it grabbed a sponge and tried to help out.

There were days where she felt like some kind of odd version of Cinderella out in the lab. She imagined someone in black with piercing violet eyes and a mischievous grin taking her away to a land of delight and adventure, if such a life existed at all.

Of course, like almost everyone else, she wanted to become a Pokémon trainer, but her family thought it was too dangerous. Plus, she didn't get chosen in the lottery anyway, and even though she could probably pass the test, and skip the lotto, now that she had been working in the lab for a year, there was still the matter of convincing her parents.

 _It's too dangerous to go out hunting for Pokémon in the wild! You don't know where they've been or what diseases they might carry. You also don't know if they won't just turn around and attack you._ She heard her dad's voice say.

She quietly fantasized about being kidnapped and forced to train Pokémon. It was better than the life her parents were making her live.

 _I wish I wouldn't have been so scared when they came to the lab._ She thought.

Sonya's thoughts suddenly turned dark, as she remembered all of the news reports, the destruction and terror that Team Rocket created in the region. She shook her head.

 _What am I thinking about? That's no place for me. It's far too dangerous...the Rockets are really bad people, but, if they weren't?_ Sonya thought.

Sonya let out a sigh. Raichu said its name in response.

* * *

Sonya let the idea fall back into her subconscious along with all of her dreams of becoming a great Pokémon trainer and all of the other goals she had for herself that she felt like she would never accomplish. She would have completely forgotten about it, if it wasn't for one fateful day.

She was running an errand for the doctor in Cerulean City, and she came across a robbery in progress. Team Rocket, decked out in their black uniforms with red "R's" were openly robbing one of the Poké Marts. Sonya knew she should probably mind her own business, but she just could not look away from this train wreck, not this time. They were carrying things out of the store as one huge unit, and no one was trying to stop them.

She watched with fascination as they loaded items onto one of their big trucks.

"Raichu!" her Pokémon growled, its cheeks sparking and teeth bared.

She had almost forgotten that she took him out earlier to get some exercise.

"Shhh..." Sonya said, trying to calm him.

"Chu..." the Pokémon cooed.

Suddenly, Sonya heard the bushes she was hidden behind rustle.

"Well...well...what do we have here?" a man in a black uniform with the unmistakable red "R" asked.

Sonya noticed the black mask he was wearing over his eyes to conceal his face.

Raichu, sensing danger, started sparking its cheeks.

"Now, now...I wouldn't do that if I were you..." the man said as he pulled a gun and undid the safety.

Sonya gulped hard and clutched Raichu, stopping its attack.

"Hand over the Pokémon, and no one gets hurt," the Rocket grunt growled.

Sonya's mind and heart were again racing. She broke into a sweat and started to panic.

"I...I...I...can't..." Sonya finally managed to say.

"I'm not here to play games, girlie, hand over the Pokémon or eat lead! We're Team Rocket; if you got what we want, we take it!" the man growled.

Sonya hesitated, and that won her the piercing sound of gun shot at close range. She winced as she heard the bullet bounce off a nearby rock.

"That was a warning shot; the next one's going to be right between your pretty little eyes!" the man threatened.

"Raichu...go...go with...the...man," Sonya stammered.

Raichu looked at her with confusion.

"Rai?"

"Go-go with him!" Sonya ordered.

Raichu stepped forward and cautiously walked to the man's side.

Once Raichu was at his side, the man laughed.

"Doesn't this thing have a Poké Ball?" The man asked impatiently.

Sonya pulled it out and gave it to the man, who then promptly recalled her Raichu and put the Poké Ball in his pocket, all while still pointing the gun at the girl.

"Now, give me your other Pokémon!" the man demanded.

"Hurry it up, and don't try anything funny!"

The man waited anxiously with one gloved hand out and the other firmly on his gun.

Sonya nervously pulled out her other Poké Balls and put them in the man's hand.

"Good. Now, empty your wallet!"

Sonya nervously complied; she didn't have very much money with her.

The man looked over the pile and took some loose Poké Dollars, her credit cards, and her picture I.D.

"Got a Pokémon training license?" the man asked.

Sonya shook her head.

"Too bad..." the shady Rocket grunt said as he looked through his newly acquired "treasures."

He finally lowered the gun, apparently disinterested. Sonya let out a sigh of relief and tried to leave.

Before Sonya could move, however, he had his weapon back out, pointed at her temples.

"On second thought, I think you know too much. I'm not sure I should let you leave..." the man said, his eyes narrowing.

Sonya drew a sharp breath.

"Get in the truck..." the man said.

Sonya swallowed hard. This was the end. How could it have come to this?


	2. Chapter 2

Cautiously, Sonya complied and made her way to the truck. There was no one inside, except for some caged wild Pokémon. The Pokémon growled in greeting to their human neighbor. Sonya froze. There were all kinds of Pokémon in the truck, and some of them looked like they could really hurt if they decided to attack.

She sat down in the corner of the truck. Her Rocket captor wasn't far behind.

"No, I want you to sit here," the man said as he motioned to one of the cages.

Sonya winced at the humiliating thought but complied and got in the cage. There her hands and feet were bound for good measure. She stood uncomfortably leaning on the bars of the cage for support. Tears started streaming down her face.

"Don't start that!" the Rocket warned, brandishing his gun.

She tried not to, but she started to cry anyway. She attempted to quiet her sobs so that she wouldn't get into trouble.

Another Rocket made his way into the truck.

"Nice catch..." the Rocket said, motioning to the girl.

The other Rocket laughed.

More Rocket grunts started boarding the truck and sitting in the spaces around the cages. The air began to smell of dirt and sweat.

Sonya stood in the cage a good ten minutes before everything was loaded up and the truck started moving. The police were nowhere in sight.

She heard the Rockets talking about their heist and how well they did this time and how "the boss" was going to be super happy. A lot of the conversation didn't make a lot of sense to her.

They had been driving for hours. Sonya's arms were very tired, and all she really wanted to do was sit down and rest. Of course, her restraints made that impossible.

A few of the Rockets were stealing quick glances at her and whispering to each other.

"Whose bright idea was it to bring her?" Sonya heard one of them say.

"What are we going to with her?" Another one said.

A grunt with green hair, who must have been the leader in this particular group, spoke up.

"Pay no attention to the beautiful gull; I got some special plans for her," the green haired man said with a wink.

There was hooting and cheering, but a group of Rockets in the front stayed quiet and started whispering to each other.

* * *

Mindy was a newer grunt who had just joined a few weeks ago. She certainly didn't like Ronnie's tone when he said, "special plans." Something told her it didn't have anything to do with Team Rocket, and, even though she didn't exactly join because of her strong sense of morality, some things were deplorable even by Rocket standards. Mindy and her group of friends were keeping a close watch on the caged woman.

They stopped at a Pokémon drop off point for headquarters. Just as they suspected, no one was touching the caged woman as the Pokémon were unloaded. While everyone was distracted with unloading Pokémon and cleaning cages for the next shipment, Mindy and her friends made their move. They walked over to the cage and Mindy slid her card in. The cage beeped, and the door and the accompanying restraints opened. Sonya sunk into the arms of her rescuers sobbing.

Mindy and the others pushed her away.

"There's no time for that!" Mindy said sternly.

"Sorry..." Sonya said, trying to dry her tears.

"Quick, put this on!" a teenage boy in a Rocket grunt uniform commanded.

Sonya complied and slipped the Rocket grunt uniform on over her clothes. It was itchy hot sweaty and stinky, but, right now, that was the least of her worries.

"Now, just climb down with the rest of us like everything's the way it should be," Mindy instructed.

Sonya slipped out of the truck undetected. Mindy grabbed her arm and led her to where all of the other grunts were supposed to be standing.

Another Rocket in a slightly different colored uniform was doing a head count.

Sonya swallowed hard.

"Just act natural..." Mindy whispered.

* * *

Petrel stood holding the roster of names and looking at the recent recruits. They had pulled a huge heist and stolen lots of Pokémon and important equipment for Team Rocket operations. For the most part, he was very proud of these young recruits.

There was one young lady, though, that he could swear he never saw on the roster.

The Rocket executive walked up to her and gave her a stern glare.

Sonya swallowed hard.

"Name, please..." Pretrel growled.

"Sonya Clearwater..." she said shakily.

Petrel scanned the roster.

"Why isn't your name on my roster?" Petrel asked.

"Well...um..."Sonya was so nervous she could barely speak.

"Let me explain!" Mindy said, boldly stepping up to the officer.

"She's...um...new...yeah...new...we got her today off of Nugget Bridge!" Mindy said.

Petrel walked up to Mindy and gave her a glare.

"New recruits are to NEVER go on missions without being overseen; do I make myself clear? Why didn't I hear about this? She was supposed to be sent to a recruiting base!" Petrel asked.

"Beats me, sir...I wasn't in charge" Mindy said, innocently.

Petrel took out his radio.

"I need a list of the recruiters who were stationed at Nugget Bridge. It looks like one of the wise guys decided to break protocol, play admin, and add people who were not assigned to the mission! Heads will roll for this!" Petrel growled into the radio.

"Yes...yes sir, I'll have a list right away," the person on the other side of the radio squeaked.

Almost as if on cue, Ronnie walked up and took his place in line.

"Whew...stealing Pokémon is hard work," Ronnie said loudly while wiping his brow. He caught sight of Sonya.

"Hey, what are you doing out of your cage?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous.

"The only recruiter stationed on Nugget Bridge was a guy named Ronnie...Ronnie Harris..." the man on the other end replied.

Petrel turned around in time to see Ronnie pull the gun on Sonya.

"What the **** do you think you're doing!" Petrel yelled as he grabbed the gun out of his hand. Petrel then kicked him to the ground, stomped on his face until he heard a crunch, and rolled him out in front of the neat rows of Rocket grunts.

Ronnie pulled himself back up, holding his face and crushed jaw.

"You're reassigned to janitorial duty! I'll let Viper deal with you this time! You'll answer to a jury of your peers. Screw up like this again, though, and you'll be answering directly to the boss, and he doesn't like screw-ups, got it?" Petrel growled.

Ronnie groaned. He was probably going to be running laps from now until he was old enough to retire.

Mindy giggled.

"The boss is likely to fire the guy with real fire, if you know what I mean..." Mindy whispered.

Sonya didn't quite get the joke, but she laughed politely anyway.

Petrel stepped in front of her.

"As for you..."

Sonya stopped laughing and made a hard gulping sound.

"Stay in our barracks tonight. Tomorrow, someone from our recruiting office will take you where you were supposed to register."

Petrel continued to look her over. He noticed her belt didn't have any Poké Balls.

"Do you have any Pokémon?"

"They took them from me..." Sonya said hesitantly.

"Oh, they forced you to turn 'em in, huh? Without making a report to me?" Petrel growled again.

"What did you have?"

"A Pikachu and a Raichu," the girl answered, almost tearing up.

"We'll get your Pokémon back to you. Don't worry."

Petrel frowned and lowered his clip board and walked off, muttering along the way.

"Incompetent fools...insubordination...infighting...stealing from each other...how did these imbeciles ever even make it to the team to start with?" Petrel muttered to himself.

Petrel picked the radio back up.

"I need information on a Pikachu and a Raichu that were surrendered today," Petrel began.

"There was nothing like that turned in," the man on the other end said.

"What?" Petrel said, rage building in his voice. Petrel shook his head, turned off the walkie talkie and walked back up to Ronnie, who were now busy cleaning the gunk out of the cages.

Ronnie looked up, his eyes immediately filled with fear when he saw the admin.

"Give me the Poké Balls containing the Pikachu and the Raichu, or I'll make a full report of this foolish fiasco of yours, and you'll be facing a tribunal. We may even make a full report of your crimes before the police as a criminal who is no longer under Team Rocket's protection, and that's if we decide to show mercy...if not...well, let's not think about that..."

Ronnie's shaking hands reached for his belt, unclipped two small Poké Balls, and tried to hand them to the admin.

"Release the Pokémon. At this point, I don't trust you," Petrel growled.

Ronnie shakily dropped the two Poké Balls to the ground. Out popped a Pikachu and a Raichu.

"Pika!"

"Rai! Rai!"

"This bad man took you away from your master. How does that make you feel?" Petrel asked.

As if they understood, the two electric mice started making sparks in their cheeks and discharged a massive wave of electricity that fried Ronnie. As Ronnie fell into a charred heap, Petrel recalled the two Pokémon and lazily left the scene as Ronnie twitched in his smoldering clothes.

Sonya was relieved, and shocked as Petrel showed her the two Poké Balls.

"These will be returned to you once you are given your first mission," Petrel said as he delicately put the Poké Balls in an envelope and started writing a report of what he understood as the day's events.

Sonya breathed a sigh of relief as everyone returned to the barracks. She thought about running, but Mindy told her not to do it. She heard that Team Rocket had a habit of punishing deserters in pretty painful ways.


	3. Chapter 3

Shakily, Sonya found her way to her room. She wasn't issued a card key yet so she had to knock on the door.

Mindy answered.

"Oh hey, Sonny, come in!"

Sonya carefully crossed the threshold into the barracks. The room was small and crowded and smelled of mildew, but it was a lot better than the cage and the hot crowded truck. This wasn't where she wanted to spend the night, but she supposed she had no choice.

 _I guess I should be more grateful. After all, I'm alive._ Sonya thought as she swallowed hard.

Suddenly, someone tapped her on the shoulder. Sonya jumped away and looked around. It was Mindy.

"Oh hi. It looks like you're lost in la-la land. Anyway, let me show you around, okay?" Mindy said.

Sonya nodded in reply, hoping her nervousness wasn't as visible as it was earlier.

"This of course is where we sleep," Mindy said as she pointed at the rows of bunk beds in the room.

Sonya looked at the plain metal bunk beds topped with thin gray blankets.

"You can have the top bunk over there," Mindy said as she motioned to a stack of bunk beds.

"Okay..." Sonya said carefully.

Mindy took a whiff of the air and promptly covered her mouth.

"Phew...I...think you need to get out of that grunt uniform and take a shower! You smell like a sun-ripened Muk!" Mindy said playfully.

"I'll show you where those are, too. We also have a laundromat, but you have to label your clothes so that they don't get misplaced. Between you and me, they'll get "misplaced" anyway if they're valuable." Mindy continued to explain, "don't trust your coworkers, but I guess that's a no-brainer, huh?"

Mindy continued to show Sonya around with all of the enthusiasm of a playful, if not somewhat mischievous, puppy Pokémon.

"...and we keep clean spare uniforms in that closet for emergencies, so you might want to grab one of those in your size," Mindy continued to explain.

As Mindy was explaining, Sonya's exhaustion started to catch up to her. She covered her mouth, yawned, and stretched.

"Okay, off to the showers, missy! I'll have your clothes waiting when you get out!" Mindy said while pointing down the hall. It was kind of funny because Mindy couldn't have been any older than she was, yet the tone and attitude she was taking with Sonya made it seem like she was counseling a younger sister.

Sonya blushed.

"I...hate to keep inconveniencing you, but could you..." Sonya paused when she saw Mindy's exasperated expression.

"Okay, go on, spit it out..." Mindy said.

"I was wondering if you could walk with me to the...showers..." Sonya said.

Mindy rolled her eyes.

"Okay, just as long as I don't have to shower _with_ you, scaredy Skitty!" Mindy said jokingly.

"What? No...I," Sonya said with a blush.

Mindy patted her on the shoulder.

"You sure? You haven't been the bravest around these parts..." Mindy said with another eye roll.

"I'm sure...you don't...I'm not asking you to..." Sonya stammered.

"Could a fooled me!" Mindy said as she playfully shoved her.

Mindy smiled and rolled her eyes again.

"...just don't get any ideas...unless you think we'd both like them..." Mindy said with a laugh.

Sonya couldn't do anything but swallow hard and blush.

"I'm joking. Stop taking everything I say so seriously!" Mindy said after a pause.

* * *

Sonya was embarrassed and uncomfortable. Of course, she didn't fully trust being on a Team Rocket base, but she did have basic needs that she needed to meet regardless. She also couldn't get over how Mindy was treating everything like a big joke. Mindy was acting like an excited kid showing off her new toys.

"Hee hee...here we are..." Mindy said as she extended her hands dramatically to the closed door.

Sonya stared at the door and winced a bit.

"The girls' washroom..." Mindy said.

She stood and watched Sonya.

"What are you waiting for? Go on in!" Mindy said, nudging her.

She handed her soap, a towel, and a pair of shower shoes.

"I'll leave everything else you need outside the door; just grab it after you're finished," Mindy said.

Sonya smiled politely then disappeared behind the doors.

"I'll be outside if you need me," Mindy said as the doors closed.

* * *

Once Sonya finished her shower, she looked outside the door to find a clean Team Rocket grunt uniform and black sneakers.

 _Running shoes._ Sonya thought.

Gingerly, Sonya slipped the clean uniform.

She then carefully made her way to the laundry chute.

Unbeknowst to Sonya, Mindy was behind her.

Sonya felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped by instinct

"Boo!" Mindy shouted.

Sonya nearly let out a yelp as she let go of everything that was in her hands, sending it down the chute.

"I don't know if I would trust laundry services with more than just uniforms..." Mindy said.

 _Oh no! I tossed my regular clothes down the chute, too!_ Sonya thought, a light sense of panic overtaking her.

"It was an accident! Is there a way to get them back?"

"Not that I know of," Mindy said, "..but cheer up, at least you've got your uniform. We don't wear our civilian clothes too often anyway,"

Sonya hung her head in defeat and walked back to the bunks.

Carefully, she climbed up to her bunk. The bed was shaky and squeaky. She hoped it wouldn't collapse under her weight. Gently, she shifted herself into a comfortable position. The shaking stopped once she was settled. Sonya buried her head in the snow white sheets and took and whiff; they smelled of some kind of strong detergent. It kind of reminded her of a hospital bed. Hospital beds weren't that bad.

Suddenly, someone entered the room.

"I hope you two haven't gone to bed yet!" another girl shouted.

"Yeah, the night is young, and so are we!" someone else said.

"Sorry, I guess you guys will have to go out without us tonight," Mindy replied.

The visitors groaned in disappointment.

"I'm still trying to get the newbie acquainted," Mindy said, motioning to the top bunk.

"Okay, suit yourself...but don't whine about missing out on a great time!" one of the Rockets said.

"Same here," Mindy said.

With that, the door closed again, and the room was quiet.

Mindy sighed.

"Seriously, sometimes I wonder if the "R" doesn't stand for "rowdy" instead of Rocket!" Mindy joked.

Sonya remained silent.

"Psst! Sonny, hello?" Mindy asked.

She was greeted by the sound of soft snoring. With no one to talk to, Mindy curled up in her bed and went to sleep. The rest of the night passed without incident.

* * *

The next day, Sonya was up with the recruits and was quietly pacing outside. She was worried about what she was going to tell the recruiter.

 _I know they won't just let me go if I tell them it was a mistake, but does that mean I'm going to have to join Team Rocket for real? What if they want to know my motives? What if they don't buy my story?_

Sonya's head was swimming. She nervously walked back into the building.

About twenty minutes later, another Rocket agent in a white uniform walked into the building. She looked like she was in her twenties, and she had long red hair.

"I'm here for number 5403 Sonya Clearwater," the woman read from her clipboard.

Sonya nervously raised her hand.

"Sorry about what happened yesterday! I'm here to take you to the recruiting center," the female Rocket said.

Nervously, Sonya followed the woman and boarded the vehicle.

Seated in the passenger seat, the former assistant took a deep breath and was greeted with a leathery new car smell. She leaned back in the seat and let the chilly air from the air conditioning vent blow through her hair. This experience would have been peaceful if it wasn't for the nagging dread she had about the destination.

"Do you want to listen to the radio?" the woman offered.

A nod signaled a positive response. The woman turned it up very loud.

" _You know us as Team Rocket and we fight for what is wrong; we're tired of our motto, so we thought we'd try a song. Jessie! James!_ "

The song had a surprisingly good beat, but it was so loud it was hurting her eardrums.

She shouted over the music and requested for it to be turned down.

Her driver complied.

Sonya's worries quickly drowned out the rest of the music. Nervously, she watched the scenery go by as she was rushed to her destination. She hoped for some kind of distraction, a Snorlax in the road, an angry Ursaring, a group of dueling Scyther...that would allow her to escape, but there was nothing like that today, just a strangely quiet long stretch of highway.

 _We're going way too fast for me to try to climb out, and I don't have any Pokemon. Plus, even if I did escape, how would i get back home? Mindy said they punished deserters..._

She wanted to get out of all of this, but she also had a strong sense of self preservation and didn't want to put herself in danger. The hundreds of negative scenarios she could imagine kept her from trying anything brash. She continued to try to think of a way she could escape without damage and came up empty.

Sonya continued fighting with herself, and, before she knew it...

* * *

"We're here," the woman said in a voice that was way too cheerful for the occasion.

 _Oh, great._ Sonya thought.

Sonya shakily exited the vehicle and followed the woman into Team Rocket's recruiting office. It was a huge air-conditioned office-style building. The hall was lined with grunts who saluted the pair as they entered. They reached a hall lined with small offices. Sonya was invited into one. The whole thing reminded Sonya of a used car dealership, not an evil organization. There was a big round black desk with a giant red "R" embossed on the front of it.

 _They're certainly not going for subtlety._ Sonya thought.

She carefully approached the desk and took a seat at one of the chairs.

 _Are they going to interview me?_ Sonya thought.

"You look nervous. Would you like something to drink?" the woman offered. She walked over to what looked like a wine fridge and pulled out a bottle of Evian water.

Sonya swallowed and shifted in her seat.

 _That looks good, but I better not take it._

"Thanks, but I'm fine," Sonya said.

"Are you sure? We have soda, too," the woman offered.

"No, I'm good, thanks," Sonya said.

"Heh...heh," the woman chuckled darkly.

Sonya gave a nervous smile and a weak laugh.

The woman looked at her watch, and her expression suddenly got serious.

Without another word, she pulled out a giant stack of papers.

Sonya's eyes grew wide.

"I just need you to initial on most of these," the woman said.

Sonya took the stack of papers into her lap and started looking over them. After a few minutes, she cautiously raised her hand like a shy kindergarten student asking to be excused.

"Yes?"

"Um? Is there a chance I could maybe...take these...home to finish?" Sonya squeaked, only remembering where she was and why that was probably the dumbest request she had ever made after the words left her mouth.

"Take...them home? Oh! That's a good one! I'm afraid not, though..." the woman said, darkly chuckling at the end.

Sonya tried to laugh, but she looked really nervous.

"We can go through them together, if you would like?" the woman offered.

Sonya nervously nodded her head.

The woman pulled up a holographic computer and started entering data.

"Okay, page one, who were you before you decided to join Team Rocket?" the woman asked.

Sonya flashed a nervous smile.

"Um...sorry, but why do you...need that information?"

Sonya looked at the stack of papers. A lot of the information they were requesting was _really_ personal.

"No reason...it's more of a formality, I guess..." the woman said while typing away at her computer.

Sonya sighed.

"Besides...I don't even remember half of this..." Sonya said.

My database can help you there...for example, it says here that your name is Sonya Clearwater. You're the daughter of Demmi and Dave Clearwater. Your birthday's June 3rd; your favorite color is green. Your, shall we say previous, occupation was a lab assistant to a Pokemon researcher named Norman Crabapple..." the woman said while busily typing away at her holographic computer.

Sonya's mouth was hanging open at this point.

"...and in case you doubt we indeed know everything about you..."

She caught the recruiter giving her a playfully evil smile before taking an exaggerated breath.

'...your medical records show that you wet the bed until you were about seven, you're allergic to peanuts, you've been treated for a recurring generalized anxiety disorder, and you were almost arrested for driving in a bikes only lane, but the Officer Jenny totally bought your sob story about needing to get to the hospital to see your injured brother, which you did not have, as you are an only child...am I blowing your mind, yet?"

Sonya's shocked expression said it all.

"How do you guys know all of that?" Sonya asked seconds later, recovering from shock.

"Meh...I.D. scans, police records, mass data collection operations, oh, yeah, and social media...social media is a big source of personal information!" the woman said.

Sonya looked like a deer Pokemon facing an approaching car.

"Yeah, we just need you to declare most of that to us in writing so that it doesn't look like we were spying on you," the woman said lazily.

 _But you were totally spying on me!_

As if reading Sonya's mind, the woman chuckled.

"If you need a refresher, it's all on this screen. I trust that this is fairly accurate," the woman said, as she pushed the holographic screen over to Sonya to copy.

Sonya, not really sure of what else to do, silently copied what she read on screen. It was surreal to see your whole private life, facts that you wouldn't even share with your best friend, presented in such an impersonal way, on a computer screen, in a database that anyone with the right credentials could access. It was scary on its own, but the fact that this was information held by an infamous organized crime syndicate made it downright nightmare inducing. She filled in every piece of information on the application fully knowing she was signing her life away.

It took Sonya a little over an hour, but she was almost finished. As she continued to look over the last page, something caught her eye.

She slowly raised her hand again.

"Yes, Sonya?" the woman asked, this time in a playful somewhat exaggerated tone, like a school teacher might do when calling out a rebellious student.

"What does this mean? I pledge not to leave Team Rocket except through an approved re-induction program?" Sonya asked.

"Oh that? To get the full details, you would have to talk to HR, but...after you join Team Rocket, we own you. That shouldn't come as a surprise, and, in case you're having second thoughts, I already have your signature saying that you agreed to join; it was on the first page of registration, where you signed your name the first time. Applicants usually miss that for some reason..."

Sonya looked down at her contract and did a mental face palm. The realization that she might have been free had she just looked at this pile of papers more carefully before signing them hit her like a ton of bricks.

If you're in for a while... I think you're obligated to do at least a year, and you absolutely _have_ to leave. Circumstances like these are rare, but let's say you come down with some kind of terrible debilitating illness that prevents you from doing your duties, or maybe you're elected for a lucrative and demanding public service position that won't allow you to work for us due to bad PR. Well, we would need some way to let you leave and still benefit from it, wouldn't we? That's where reintroduction comes in. You know, we don't just drag you outside and shoot you, usually...it's inefficient. Plus, do that enough, and people start talking...We don't want to scare people away from joining, so we have a little system that gives our active members a little more...dignity. Things happen; we get that."

The woman took a breath.

"Speaking of benefits, we also offer a 401K, a college savings plan, health insurance, and a signing bonus, but most of the money you earn is held until you become a legal adult."

Sonya took a deep breath. She wasn't as afraid to ask what was on her mind after hearing the professional sounding speech.

"What if, and this is just hypothetical, just hypothetical, but what if someone joined by accident?"

There was a pause.

"Hmm...I don't know that one. You have some good questions. I tell you what. I'll call HR, and we'll talk to them together, okay?"

Sonya nodded her head.

The woman pressed a button.

"Hello, this is Wendy, may I help you?"

"Hi, Wendy, it's Auderie at recruiting. I have a new recruit who has some questions about our discharge process,"

"It's fairly simple, straight-forward, and covered in the handbook!" Wendy said impatiently.

"Okay, but she, she asked me some questions I couldn't find, such as, "what happens if someone joins by accident or decides, prior to signing the whole contract, that they don't want to be a member?"

"Did she sign the first page?"

"Yep,"

"Then, she's ours, and that's the end of it. We could take her out back and shoot her if we wanted to. She has no legal protection whatsoever and no claims to any other part of the contract that we are obligated to uphold,"

Sonya turned pale and started to feel sick.

"Oh, okay, how long will it be like that?" Auderie asked in a strangely professional tone that made it seem like she didn't quite grasp the previous information.

"After she passes basic and goes on a few missions, she'll get a chance to upgrade her status. Once her status is upgraded, protections take effect," Wendy explained.

 _Could you be any more vague?_ Sonya thought.

"Sorry, English, please?" Auderie asked.

Wendy sighed.

"In other words, as long as she's a grunt, Team Rocket can decide if she lives or dies. If she serves us well, though, and successfully becomes a field agent, VIT, field ally, or really anything higher than a grunt, she'll be protected by the contract. Right now, though, she's at the complete mercy of the Team Rocket admins. I'd walk softly if I were her," Wendy explained.

"Oh, thanks for clearing that up!" Auderie said in her oddly cheerful voice.

"Anytime! But that information really is in the handbook," Wendy said.

Auderie closed the video phone call, and Sonya sat in her chair ready to dry heave.

 _What on Earth have I gotten myself into?_

"Are you sure you don't want a soda or something, you look pale?"

"I...guess I'll take something," Sonya said weakly.

"Sure, I have soda pop, lemonade, sparkling water, and fresh spring water. Which do you want?" the woman asked.

"I guess I'll take the fresh water," Sonya said.

Wordlessly, the woman passed Sonya the ice cold Evian bottle, and she drained it down.

"Okay, do you have any more questions for me?"

"I'm dead, aren't I?" Sonya asked frustration quietly taking over. Her eyes searched the recruiter's for something human, pity, concern?

Instead, Auderie's gaze was cold and glassy. She gave a nervous laugh.

"I think that might be a better question for the people who will handle your basic training," Auderie answered with a weak laugh.

Sonya slumped in her chair and stared at her feet.

"Of course I'm joking. I'm sure you'll be okay if you work hard to please your superiors," Auderie finally said in a matter-of-fact tone.

The girl's expression didn't change.

"Oh, cheer up! Remember, almost everyone started life here as a grunt. They lived through it, and you probably will, too."

 _Probably?_ Sonya thought

* * *

Sonya just sat there, trying to wrap her head around what she had gotten herself into.

"Okay, everything is taken care of. You'll start your orientation classes and basic training tomorrow at 4 AM. The hours are murder, I know!" Auderie said, trying, in vain, to lighten the mood.

Auderie placed a heavy binder into Sonya's lap.

"Okay, that's everything you need right now, your employee handbook-read it from cover to cover; there will be a test, a copy of Team Rocket's mission statement, your textbook for your orientation classes, your codes for the online portion of the course, a company issued holographic computer-no civilian technology allowed, guard it with your life, a guide to using the teleportation tiles, maps of our secret locations..."

Auderie took another exaggerated breath before continuing.

"...and your card key to the on site dorms and associated facilities."

A sweat drop appeared on Sonya's forehead. She again attempted a nervous smile.

"Now, if there are no more questions..."

Auderie pressed a button on her desk. Before Sonya knew what was happening, she was surrounded by a clear plastic cylinder and was rapidly descending several stories through a secret hole in the floor.

"Welcome aboard, grunt!" she heard Auderie call out.

Sonya sat back in her chair, which she now noticed had seat belts on it. The elevator music was a song. She closed her eyes and tried to listen to it to get her mind off of the really fast dangerous feeling descent.

" _Prepare for trouble; make it double...to protect the world from devastation, to unite all people within our nation, to denounce the evils of truth and love, to extend our reach to the stars above! Jessie! James! Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light, surrender now or prepare to fight. Meowth-that's right! Team Rocket's rockin' talking trouble big trouble gonna follow you..._ "

It was actually somewhat catchy and familiar.

 _This is like what they said to us when they broke into the lab._ Sonya thought.

She shuddered, uneasiness continuing to play with her mind.

 _What have I gotten myself into?_ Sonya asked herself.


	4. Chapter 4

The elevator, or whatever the giant glass cylinder really was, stopped with a jolt seconds before reaching the ground. Terrified Sonya expected to be crushed by the impact. The door opened to reveal an impatient Rocket grunt with a scowl on his face.

"I.D, please?" the Rocket grunt said.

Sonya smiled nervously and then searched her pockets.

"I know I just had it..." she said. She was beginning to get nervous and shaky.

"Hurry up, brat. I don't got all day!" the impatient grunt demanded.

Sonya continued to nervously search through her things.

The Rocket grunt, impatient, threw her out of the way and started looking through the stuff himself.

Five minutes later, the Rocket grunt stood up and dusted himself off.

"I'm sorry...I just had it..." Sonya apologized nervously.

"...so you did..." the grunt said, dusting off the little card and giving Sonya a scowl.

The next thing Sonya felt was the card being pressed into her hand firmly.

"Don't lose this! It's very important. Without it, you won't be allowed on our base!" the grunt scolded.

"I'm...sorry..." Sonya said as she sheepishly picked up her things.

"You might want ta rent a backpack for all that stuff!" the grunt said.

The Rocket grunt stepped out of the way, and Sonya finally got a better look at where she was.

"Whoa..." Sonya whispered.

The basement she was in looked to be the size of a shopping mall. Everything was some shade of black or gray, really industrial, and there were Rocket grunts everywhere. She felt a mixture of terror and fascination. Instinct made her keep her head down while she walked past the grunts.

"Hey! Where are you going? Can I see some ID?" another grunt asked.

Sonya carefully pulled her Rocket ID badge out and showed it to the grunt. The grunt took it, looked at it, and then gave it back to her. Sonya then felt someone shove her hard.

"Get to your room, newbie!" the grunt said in a low growl.

Sonya quickly grabbed her ID and hurried away, still keeping her head down and not really looking where she was going. She noticed grunts laughing at her, so she ran faster and faster to try to avoid them. Then, she bumped into something hard and tripped over it. She felt herself falling and heard a series of loud crashes as things fell around her.

"Ouch!" Sonya heard someone say.

Laughter from onlookers roared behind her as the young man groaned.

She looked around to see a young man in a white Team Rocket uniform struggling to get up. Sonya froze, not sure what to do, as the young man tried to pull himself up. She thought about running, but it was like everything was happening in slow motion.

"You know, miss, you could at least help me get up," the young man scolded.

"Oh, sorry..." Sonya said with a blush as she offered him a hand. She was surprised that he wasn't angry at her for knocking him down.

The young man sat up in the pile of fallen boxes rubbing his head. Sonya watched as he blinked a few times. His face looked very young; he could have been just a few years older than her at most. He actually looked kind of cute. She wondered what such a sweet innocent boy was even doing here. The boy's eyes met hers and his look of bewilderment was quickly replaced by something more stern when he noticed her staring.

Sonya's smile melted and she felt her face becoming hot. To make things worse, a small crowd of older Rocket grunts had gathered to investigate the scene.

"I...don't think I recognize you...may I see your ID?" the young man said.

Sonya snapped out of her daydream and pulled her Rocket ID badge out and handed it to him with an exasperated sigh.

"Oh...you're new?" the young man asked, raising his eyebrow.

Sonya nodded her head.

"May I ask you something?" the young man asked.

"Sure..." Sonya said.

"I need some help with these boxes of Poke Balls you knocked down," the young man directed.

Sonya agreed with another head nod before kneeling down to gather them. Soon, the last box was loaded back on the cart, and the small crowd of onlookers had dwindled to just a few people.

The young man sighed and looked at Sonya again. There was an awkward pause.

"Well, I need to be going," the young man said before Sonya could ask him any more questions.

Sonya just stood there as if in a small trance. She watched him push the cart and disappear down the corridor.

 _Why is someone that cute in Team Rocket?_ Sonya thought to herself as she continued to wander the hall.

The corridor was getting darker. Sonya still wasn't sure where she was. She could hear laughing and chatter in the dimly lit halls. There was also a slight groaning sound, like someone was in pain. She started to get really uncomfortable. Without thinking, she started walking quickly to try to get away from the strange place. Eventually, she came to a door and opened it hoping it led to a room with more light. Instead, she was greeted with a pitch black closet and its angry occupants.

"Hey! What are you doing?" a woman's voice yelled.

"We were trying to get a little privacy out here!" a man's voice yelled.

"Sorry..." Sonya said, flashing a nervous smile that probably wasn't detectable in the darkness.

"Get out of here, now, brat!" the woman yelled.

"We're gonna give you ta da count a three, and if you're still here, we'll show you why ya should a left!" the man said.

Instead of leaving, Sonya froze, not sure what to do. The corridor was pretty dim, and she wasn't sure where she had come from.

"One..."

Sonya wanted to run, but she wasn't sure how she would get away in time. She wasn't even sure where the other hall was.

"Two..."

She was sweating and shaking. She fought the urge to cry.

"Three..." Without warning, the lights switched back on to reveal two fully clothed Rocket agents in an odd looking magenta uniform.

Sonya's scared doe eyes met the hungry eyes of the two agents.

"Well, well, Anthony, it looks like someone wanted to spy on us," the woman said.

Anthony laughed a sinister dark laugh, "if she only knew da trouble she was gettin herself into, Marie,"

"I guess she should prepare for trouble," Marie said.

"I'm thinking maybe she should," Anthony paused, grabbed Sonya forcefully by the shoulder and licked his lips, "make it double."

"Enough of this..." Marie said.

Sonya watched as the woman pulled out a Poke Ball.

"Go, Zubat!"

She then noticed that Anthony was also fingering a Poke Ball.

"Go, Beedrill!"

Sonya stood frozen between the two Pokemon.

Marie smirked.

"What's the matter? Too afraid to fight?" Marie asked.

"I...I don't have any Pokemon," Sonya said, swallowing hard after the words left her mouth.

"That's too bad..." Marie said in mock sympathy. She then turned back to her Pokemon.

Sonya watched in horror.

"Zubat, Beedrill, get her!" Marie commanded.

Anthony nodded his head and two Pokemon flew toward Sonya.

"Beedrill!"

"Zubat!"

Sonya braced herself as the two Pokemon prepared to attack, but suddenly, two more Pokemon materialized in front of her.

"Ditto!"

"Tauros!"

"Tauros, use takedown attack on Zubat and Beedrill!" the boy commanded.

Sonya heard a loud crash. Bravely, she looked around the room. It was the boy from before.

"Takedown, one more time!" the boy commanded.

Before the two agents could do anything, their Pokemon were hit by a powerful takedown attack that knocked them back into the arms of their trainers.

"Why you little..." the agents growled.

"Recall those! You know the rules about fighting on the premises!" the boy commanded.

"Oh yeah, whose going to make us?" the agents asked in defiance.

Just then, a burly man with a mohawk stepped out of the shadows.

"Agents in training Marie and Anthony, what are you doing?" the man asked.

"V-viper!" the two stuttered, "we-we were just..."

"They attacked this new grunt with their Pokemon," the boy said, matter-of-factly.

"Is that true?" Viper said, a dark scowl forming on his face.

Marie and Anthony were silent and shaking.

"You know that fighting on the premises is prohibited," Viper said.

"Yes-yes, sir..." Marie and Anthony said.

"I'm afraid you are dismissed from the program. You are once again grunts!" Viper yelled.

Sonya watched the disappointed, almost fearful, expressions form on their faces.

"Still-still grunts, sir?" Marie said.

"But, but we worked all year to get into the agents program!" Anthony said.

"and you blew it when you decided to disobey me..." Viper said coldly.

* * *

Sonya felt the boy grab her hand.

"Come on. You shouldn't be in this hall; this is for special field agent training only," the boy said, "where were you trying to go anyway?"

"T-to my room," Sonya said shakily.

"Do you know the room number?" the boy asked.

Sonya shook her head. The boy sighed.

"Let me see your I.D." the boy said.

"Again?" Sonya asked.

The boy just groaned impatiently and held out his hand.

Sonya again produced her I.D.

"Number 5403..." the boy said absentmindedly as he typed the number into something that looked like a Pokedex.

She eyed the device with mild curiosity.

"It says here that your room is on R hall West," the boy said, somewhat disinterested, "I have to take some stuff down there, so I recommend you follow me."


	5. Chapter 5

Sonya took a deep breath. Her nose caught the scent of aftershave or a strong herbal body spray. The boy in front of her looked neat and smelled clean, a stark contrast to the dirty sweaty grunts she encountered earlier. She had so many questions for him, questions she would probably never ask. She briefly forgot her worries and allowed herself into a soft lull.

The two continued to travel along the dimly lit hallway. Sonya listened to the squeaky wheels of the cart.

Sonya started to notice her surroundings again as what little light they had slowly faded away. Suddenly, she tripped. The cart continued rolling, its sound fading in the distance.

She could no longer see the boy, and her paranoia was again settling in. The shadows on the wall were suddenly looking frightening and menacing. She imagined monsters, or worse, more Team Rocket agents right around the corner. The fading sound of the squeaky cart began to take on a discordant tone.

Suddenly, something rustled in the corner.

"Rattata!" a Pokemon yelled.

Sonya screamed and jumped, knocking into something soft. It was the boy.

"Ouch!" the boy screamed.

Sonya smiled nervously and blushed. Apparently, the cart wasn't as far away as she thought.

"Don't do that again!" the boy chided sternly.

"Sorry, I just...why is it so dark in here anyway?" Sonya asked.

"I already told you. They use these halls for special training. Agents have to know how to operate in all conditions. You have to learn to navigate by sound and touch, you'll learn more once you earn a mission."

The boy's tone was gruff and overly professional, not too friendly.

Before Sonya could say anything else, they entered another door. The light was almost blinding after traveling through those dark halls. She shielded her eyes and winced. It took a few seconds to readjust. Sonya tried to blink little spots out of her eyes.

"This is R hall. Your room is on the left. It's the same as the last two digits of your agent number on your ID," the boy said in the same disinterested tone as before.

Sonya continued to stare at the boy, like a deer Pokemon in headlights.

"Use your ID or the key card you were issued for entry," the boy said.

Cautiously, Sonya made it to her room, swiped her ID in the key card slot, and opened the door.

The inside was clean and industrial, but less so than the barracks she stayed in the night before. This was a little more like a dorm room. There was a full sized bed already made. The blanket on top was black with white trim and had a giant red R on it. There was also an alarm clock on the night stand and an empty bookshelf.

Exhausted, she plopped herself and her things on the bed.

After taking a few seconds to catch her breath, her attention turned to some sort of commotion outside. It sounded like the boy.

Carefully, Sonya opened her door and took a peak. It was the boy, arguing with...a Meowth? That's certainly what it looked like.

"Dey need ta see youse right away, Mondo," the Pokemon said.

"I'll be there. I just need to drop off these packages," the boy said.

 _A...a talking Meowth?_

Sonya closed her door and ran back to her bed in a panic.

 _It...it must have just been my imagination, right? Oh wow, I feel like i'm going crazy._

Curiosity soon got the best of her, though, and she carefully opened her door again. There was the Meowth and the boy. She looked in their direction, her eyes met Mondo's and the Meowth's.

Mondo motioned to the Meowth, and it quickly got onto all fours and started making normal Meowth noises.

"Meowth..." Meowth said as he absentmindedly licked himself.

"You...that Meowth...it was just talking...to you..." Sonya said in an excited stammer.

"I'm afraid you are mistaken, miss," Mondo said as he rubbed the Meowth under the chin.

Sonya just stood there watching Mondo, a bewildered look on her face.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I need to deliver these packages. Study hard for your exams, okay, miss?" Mondo said.

Sonya watched as the boy and the Meowth disappeared from view. Slowly, she crept back into her room and locked the door.

Exhausted, Sonya collapsed on her bed and fell asleep.

* * *

She woke up and looked at the clock. It was already night time. Groggily, she sat up. Memories of the day's events came rushing back.

 _A talking Meowth? I...I must have been imagining things? I hope I'm not going crazy._

The girl's attention slowly turned back to the pile of books on her bed. Mondo's words echoed back to her.

 _Study hard for your exams, okay, miss?_

"My exams?" Sonya asked herself.

 _There will be a test!_ Audry's words echoed in her memory.

Quickly, Sonya opened one of the books she had carelessly thrown on her bed and began to read it.


	6. Chapter 6

The shrill screaming of a Rocket officer jolted Sonya awake. She had fallen asleep with her head in one of her Team Rocket textbooks, titled _Villainy 101_. She groggily opened her eyes and tried to adjust to her surroundings. Her first reaction was a startle when she looked at the unfamiliar room. Then, memories of where she was and what she had gotten herself into slowly flooded back.

An announcement came over the loud speakers.

"Attention all new recruits, please line up out front at o four hundred hours!"

Sonya looked at the clock. It read _3:50._ Sonya quickly jumped out of bed, combed her hair with her hands, and rubbed her eyes to clear them.

 _Knock. Knock. Knock!_

Sonya was startled by the loud noise. Before she could react, a Rocket grunt burst into the room.

"Get your lazy good-for-nothing carcass outside, now! Are you waiting for an invitation?" the Rocket grunt yelled.

"Raticate!" a Pokemon the grunt had by his side yelled, as if in agreement.

Sonya quickly grabbed a handful of her stuff and ran into the hallway.

Outside, about a hundred young Rocket grunts stood at attention in front of their doors.

"Alright, Wurmples, attention! Fall in line, single file. Stop where I tell you if you know what's good for you!"

Nervously, Sonya got behind the line of Rocket recruits.

"Left, left. left, right, left!" the grunt's shrill voice yelled.

"How do you like that guy? He must think we're in the army!" a familiar voice said.

Sonya looked up with surprise.

"Mindy?"

"Who were you expecting, Officer Jenny?"

"Where did you come from?"

"Well, thanks to a green-haired goof and a certain new recruit who wasn't on the roster," Mindy said while playfully bumping Sonya with her shoulder,"Petrel doesn't trust us; he recommended all of us for retraining. I've already been through basic once. Boy, I hope the boss throws the book at Ronnie," Mindy said with a growl.

"It...might not be that bad..." Sonya said.

Mindy laughed and rolled her eyes.

"You're right..."

Sonya sighed.

"...it'll probably be worse," Mindy said with a mischievous smile.

Just then, the line stopped and a giant mechanical door opened.

"Where are we?" Sonya asked.

"This is the training gym," Mindy said, "this is where they take light-weight scaredy Skitties like you and make them into fearless felons."

Mindy laughed as she watched the color drain from Sonya's cheeks.

"Come on; I'll show you around," Mindy said confidently.

"Shouldn't we wait for the officer?" Sonya said.

"Who? The guy giving us orders? That ain't no officer. That's just a grunt with an over-inflated ego and too much time on his hands! Viper's the only one you really have to listen to, and he's as cool as an Alolan Vulpix," Mindy said with a smile.

"Alolan Vulpix?" Sonya asked.

"Ice type," Mindy clarified.

"Oh!" Sonya said.

"Keep up, Slow-bro!" Mindy said with a smirk, "I'm saying that old Viper'll let you get away with poke-murder if you know what you're doing!"

Sonya gave Mindy a slightly disgusted expression.

"Oh...you know what I mean, right?" Mindy asked.

Sonya shook her head.

Quickly, Mindy grabbed Sonya's hand.

"It might be easier to show you than tell you. Come with me!" Mindy said.

Sonya tried to resist, but she felt herself being tugged along.

"Where are we going?" Sonya asked.

"You'll see!" Mindy said.

Before she knew it, Sonya had let Mindy drag her out of line and out into the stadium area where agents were training their Pokemon.

"This is where the top field agents train," Mindy said.

Sonya looked up and her gaze met two trainers in the arena. Realizing who it was, Sonya quickly tried to hide.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Mindy asked.

"It's her!" Sonya said. Sonya felt a mixture of fear with a tinge of elation, but she was hoping no one would notice the latter.

"Are you ready for a friendly fight, Botch?" Cassidy asked.

"It's Butch, and bring it on!" Butch said.

"Raticate!"

"Drowsey!"

"Raticate, hyperfang!" Butch said.

The giant rat Pokemon bared its overgrown sharp teeth and charged at its opponent.

"Drowsey, mega punch!" Cassidy said.

The ant-eater shaped Pokemon rared back and delivered a powerful punch to the charging rat Pokemon. With a loud crack, its teeth shattered, and it looked around confused.

Butch stood with his mouth hanging open.

"Wha? Raticate, use..."

"Drowsey, psychic attack!" Cassidy said.

Before the Pokemon could make another move, it was enveloped by a blue aura. When the aura cleared, it was lying on the ground, fainted.

"No way..." Butch said.

"Impressed?" Cassidy asked.

"I'll say. How did you get da boss ta lend us such a powerful Pokemon?"

"This Drowsey is part of our breeding center program," Cassidy said.

"Dat's da same one we had at da Orange Islands? It seems even stronger than before," Butch said.

Cassidy smiled and gave a confident laugh as she called back the Pokemon.


	7. Chapter 7

Butch and Cassidy recalled their Pokemon and casually strolled past the bleachers where Mindy and Sonya were hiding.

"Let's go to a base center and then head to the cafe, Biff," Cassidy said.

"It's Butch. Why are you always nicknaming me?" Butch asked.

...

"That was totally awesome! Come on, let's introduce ourselves before they leave!" Mindy said.

Sonya was holding on to the bleachers with all she had while Mindy tried to drag her away.

"Stop stop stop. No, I don't want to go!" Sonya protested.

Flashbacks of the lab invasion started playing in her mind. Cassidy's voice echoed in her ears.

 _You didn't think I'd leave you alone with a loaded gun, did you?_

 _Ah-uh-uh, I can't have you running off to get the police._

 _Shhh. Relax now; this will all be over in a little while-_

"Why not, scaredy Skitty?"

Sonya blinked, trying to get rid of the images that had flashed into her mind.

She wasn't really sure what to say.

 _I can't tell her that she was the agent who kept me safe-or something-that time Team Rocket invaded the lab, can I?_ Sonya thought.

Just recalling that incident made Sonya quiver. The way she felt when she saw or thought about Cassidy was hard to describe. She wasn't really sure if she should feel good or bad, if she should regard her as a rescuer or a captor.

"Come on, why not? You still haven't answered my question, Sonny," Mindy said.

Mindy's constant hounding was giving Sonya a light headache. She decided she should probably answer something.

"She's...she's someone I've met before..." Sonya said. It was almost as if the words had left her mouth on their own.

"So...let me get this straight, you know her?" Mindy asked.

Sonya winced, pushing back the oddly pleasant feeling she got about the lab incident.

"Seriously?" Mindy asked.

Sonya stared and blinked, not sure what to say.

"Well...not exactly..." Sonya said.

Mindy wasn't paying attention anyway.

"Oh man, that is so awesome! Do you have any idea who that is?" Mindy asked.

Sonya shook her head.

"Sonny, that's only one of Team Rocket's top field agents! We hear awesome rumors about her all of the time!"

Mindy suddenly grabbed Sonya and tried to pull her toward the arena.

"Hey! Wait! Stop! What are you doing?" Sonya asked.

"We need to go talk to them before they leave!" Mindy said.

"W-why?" Sonya asked.

Even though she deeply admired Cassidy, she was terrified of another encounter with them. She had no idea what would happen.

"If they know you, we can get some serious recognition from the other grunts! The agents may even agree to take us out on a mission! How exciting would that be?" Mindy said.

"No..no...no!" Sonya said while trying to hold on.

 _I...I can't...what if she recognizes me?_ Sonya thought.

"Come on, scaredy Skitty!" Mindy said, tugging hard at Sonya's arm.

Mindy yanked Sonya free from her hiding place behind the bleachers.

 _They're about to leave. All I have to do is stall until they're gone._

Sonya saw Cassidy and her partner walking toward the door and felt Mindy pulling her in that direction.

 _What do I do? I don't want to talk to her, not now anyway._ Sonya thought.

She saw a stack of heavy workout equipment.

 _Maybe I can hide there so I won't have to face this._ Sonya thought.

It was a struggle, but Sonya managed to pull away from Mindy. Unfortunately, she then stumbled into some training equipment, intended for Pokemon.

"Clank!"

Everyone in the training arena looked up to see what happened.

Suddenly, the agents were laughing at the hapless clumsy grunt.

Mindy ran to Sonya's side. A look of annoyance was on her face.

"Sonny, are you okay?" Mindy asked.

Sonya didn't say anything but instead pointed above her head.

"Whoa! That...looks dangerous," Mindy said.

"What's going on? Oh my-that thing'll crush her if it falls! Someone call for help!" someone said.

Sonya was now on her back, struggling to get up. Dangling above her head was a huge piece of exercise equipment intended for fighting Pokemon. It was perched precariously on an unstable beam that was somehow being held up by her body. She started shaking and noticed the beam move. The piece of equipment slid dangerously close to the edge.

"Sonny, try not to move, okay?" Mindy yelled.

 _Right! Try not to move. Try not to move. Oh...what if that thing falls on my head? It looks like it weighs tons. It'll crush me like a bug Pokemon._ Sonya thought.

Sonya felt her heart racing, and she started crying.

Just then, Sonya shifted, and the heavy piece of equipment took a final tumble to the edge of the beam supporting it. Sonya held her breath, trying to re-balance it, but it was too late. The next second, the huge anvil-like projection was barreling towards her head.

Sonya screamed.

 _This looks like the end for me!_ Sonya thought, as she shut her eyes.

"Crash!"

The piece of equipment came crashing down right where her head was. To all of the onlookers, including Mindy, it looked like she should have been smashed to bits.

"SONNY!" Mindy screamed.

Mindy's yelling caught the attention of others who were training in the gym.

A small crowd of onlookers gathered at the scene.

Mindy made a disgusted face as some of them tried to tell jokes to lighten the mood.

"I don't have any Pokemon strong enough to deal with that!" someone said.

"Oh well, accidents happen," another said.

"That's natural selection at work, guys," someone said.

Mindy went back and sat on the bleachers, visibly stunned at what just happened.

"Sonny...s-sonny..." Mindy said, her voice breaking. Tiny tears fell from her eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sonya was in a quivering mass just a few inches from the door to the hall.

 _What's going on?_ Sonya thought; she still had her eyes tightly shut waiting for impact.

"Oh please! Did you think you'd get to leave Team Rocket that easily?" a woman said, jokingly. Her voice was really soft and entrancing.

Sonya felt herself getting little chills as she listened. A flash of recognition from the lab incident entered her mind.

 _Huh? That voice...it's familiar._ Sonya thought.

Sonya carefully uncovered her eyes and blinked.

She felt someone's foot gently nudge her quivering body.

"What-what happened?" Sonya asked. She then noticed someone extending a gloved hand to her. She took it and lifted herself up. Her nose was briefly kissed by a very pleasant scent, maybe perfume or body lotion?

"Are you okay?" Cassidy asked.

Sonya's eyes met those of her rescuers.

 _It's her?_ Sonya thought. For a minute, Sonya just stared at Cassidy.

"Well, are you?" Cassidy asked again, this time with just a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Y-yes," the girl said. She was so nervous and scared that she could barely speak. The sight of Cassidy made her feel strange; she suddenly felt a little ill, scared, and elated, all at once. She desperately tried not to blush or cry.

"You almost made yourself into a human pancake," Cassidy said. This time her tone was a little rougher, not mean, though, not exactly.

"You're lucky we were here to help!" Butch said.

"You helped m-me?" Sonya squeaked.

"Yes, my Drowsy teleported you away at the last second," Cassidy said, matter-of-factly.

"W-wow, t-thanks," Sonya stammered.

"Just promise me you'll be more careful. We aren't known for doing good deeds, you know," Cassidy said with a smirk.

"...and we kinda want ta keep it that way, if we can!" Butch said with a smile.

Sonya stood there completely lost for words.

"I...uh..." Sonya said.

"That's all," Cassidy said, as she turned to walk away.

 _Wow.._ Sonya thought.

She sighed and thanked her lucky stars that they didn't recognize her, or at least they didn't act like they did.

Sonya felt like smiling with excitement; she managed to fight the urge, though.

Then, she felt this odd feeling in the pit of her stomach.

 _She..she saved me?_ Sonya thought.

She remained frozen, thinking about what happened as she watched the two agents walk away.

Sonya then turned and faced the sight of the accident.

 _If she wouldn't have been here, I could have..._ Sonya thought.

The idea made her shiver.

 _I wonder if...it was the same way at the lab?_ Sonya thought.

Sonya was standing staring out in front of her, trying to make sense of the situation.

Just then, a shrill voice broke her out of her daze.

"Number 5403, Sonya Clearwater, what are you doing here?" Viper asked.

Sonya quickly turned to face the officer. Her gaze fell onto his purple mo-hawk and disapproving scowl.

Suddenly, she felt someone tackle her from behind.

Mindy pulled Sonya into a very tight embrace.

"You're alive!" Mindy shouted.

"For the time being..." Sonya said, motioning to Viper.

Mindy looked at Viper and then back at Sonya.

"You have no idea how worried we were! Please don't EVER do that again!" Mindy said.

* * *

Author's Note: I'm not sure I like this chapter very much. Any suggestions for improvement are welcome.


	8. Chapter 8

Viper gave Sonya and Mindy two weeks of kitchen duty for sneaking off and missing part of their training. The two were then directed to rejoin the training session in progress.

"Today we will be learning how to catch a Pokemon without another Pokemon," the instructor began.

Mindy sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Why do we need to know that? We've already got Pokemon," Mindy said to Sonya in a low grumble.

"I don't know; just listen," Sonya whispered.

"You will never know when you will be in a situation where this will come in handy," the instructor said.

Mindy yawned quietly.

"Did you get enough sleep?" Sonya asked in a whisper.

"Never do..." Mindy said.

"Why?" Sonya asked.

"Just listen to the boring lecture, okay, Sonny?" Mindy said.

"Can anyone give me some examples of how to catch a wild Pokemon without another Pokemon?" the instructor asked.

 _I've been trying to listen to the lecture._ Sonya thought, rolling her eyes.

Just then, the instructor slammed his hand against the desk.

"Sonya Clearwater! Can you tell me five ways to catch a Pokemon without another Pokemon?" the instructor said.

Sonya paused.

 _Oh great. Do I know that? Let's see...what did I read in the book last night? Did I even get to that chapter?_

Mindy raised her hand.

"Yes, Mindy?" the instructor said.

"Well, let's see...you can steal them, pretend to be a new trainer and get them given to you, lure them into traps, and..." Mindy said.

The instructor shook his head.

"No, I'm afraid those answers are incorrect. While those are ways to obtain Pokemon, they are not ways to legally catch them," The instructor said.

The whole class groaned.

"Why do we need to know how to do anything the legal way, anyway? We're Team Rocket," Mindy whispered.

Some of her classmates giggled.

A bell rang.

"We will leave for a short lunch break. The cafeteria is down the hall. When lunch is over, you will all be out in the Rattata field for some real-world practice," the instructor said.

* * *

Sonya followed Mindy to the cafeteria. It looked a lot like a school lunch cafe. She got in line, and the woman handed her a tray. When she got to cash register, though, she wasn't really sure what to do.

 _I don't have any money on me. Team Rocket has all of my belongings._ Sonya thought.

She was trying to think of what she was going to tell the lady at the cash register, but when she got there, all she heard was,

"Scan your I.D."

So she did.

Now, she needed to find a place to sit.

She scanned the cafe area and decided to sit with Mindy and her friends.

 _Why not? They're at least familiar._ Sonya thought.

She also looked for Cassidy, but she only saw grunts. She guessed they must be scheduled to eat at different times or something.

"Mmm! I wonder what this is!" one of Mindy's friends said, while gushing over some kind of mystery meat.

"Don't ask," Mindy said.

Sonya walked over nervously.

Mindy looked at her with a frown.

"Sorry, this seat's taken," Mindy said.

Sonya looked puzzled and then turned to walk away. She then felt someone grab her arm and pull her to the table.

"You need to learn to take a joke," Mindy said with a sigh.

"I just-you said-" Sonya said.

Mindy just shook her head.

"May I sit here or not?" Sonya asked.

One of Mindy's friends mouthed the word "yes."

"What she said," Mindy said.

Tentatively, Sonya took a seat.

"I'm sorry, I-" Sonya said.

"and STOP apologizing all the time, Sonny! First you almost get yourself killed. Then, you get both of us in trouble with Viper, and now you're apologizing for trusting us!" Mindy said.

"Well-it wasn't like that..." Sonya said.

"I know, okay. I know," Mindy said.

Sonya sighed.

"Well, anyway, what do you...think the rest of the training is going to be like?" Sonya asked, desperately trying to change the subject.

"Nothing that we will actually need, trust me. I've been through this whole program already," Mindy said.

"Yeah, they're just going to make us run some laps, give us some quizzes about the organization, and then give us some quizzes and field tests on Pokemon," one of Mindy's friends said.

"Well, that sounds exciting to me?" Sonya said, trepidation in her voice.

"The only thing that's really important is Villainy 101. The rest of this is just filler. I don't understand why they have it," Mindy said.

"Agents, on the other hand, get the really cool training," one of Mindy's friends said.

Mindy sighed.

"Speaking of agents, you never told us what your connection with Cassidy was," Mindy whispered to Sonya.

"I don't want to talk about it," Sonya said.

"Fine, we don't have to talk," Mindy said. She then stood up to put away her tray.

Sonya silently finished her meal in time to hear the next bell ring.

* * *

Outside in the Ratatta field, the instructor was again giving instructions. Viper was standing watch to make sure no new recruits decided to sneak off again.

"Each of you will receive three Poke Balls. Your task is to catch a Pokemon. You will be given a one-hour time limit to do so. The Pokemon you catch can be added to your party or it can be traded for other benefits," Viper said.

Sonya crept onto the Ratatta field. True to its name, the place was crawling with Ratatta.

It looked a little unnerving, but Rattata were one of the few types of Pokemon she got to interact with in the lab.

She swallowed hard. _I hope these are friendly. Ratatta bites hurt._ Sonya thought.

"So we have to catch our own starters?" Sonya asked. She was just trying to make conversation and distract herself from being nervous.

The grunt she was talking to just nodded.

"Ready, begin!" a grunt yelled.

The grunts ran into the field trying to catch a Pokemon.

Sonya watched as grunts threw Poke Balls, only to have the Pokemon escape and run away.

 _Wow, I wish I would have been paying better attention during that lecture._ Sonya thought.

As she was walking, she saw Mindy throwing a Poke Ball.

The Poke Ball hit the Pokemon and shook once, twice, three times, and caught.

"Yes!" Mindy said.

Sonya carefully approached her.

"Did you catch any Pokemon yet?" Mindy asked.

Sonya shook her head.

"Yeah, it's hard to do it without being able to weaken them first," Mindy said.

"Sorry, but could you maybe show me...how?" Sonya asked.

"Later," Mindy said as she produced a Poke Ball.

"Just take one I've already caught," Mindy said.

Sonya carefully took the Poke Ball and reluctantly put it in her pocket. She felt weird about just taking the Poke Ball, but she didn't want to upset Mindy by trying to catch her own Pokemon after being offered the help. Besides, they only had an hour. She didn't want to take a risk of getting more punishments for not completing the task.

 _I'll just be sure to read this chapter when I get back to my room._ Sonya thought.

She continued to watch grunts try to catch the Rattata. Most were unsuccessful, and some ended up hurting themselves by doing dangerous and stupid things like trying to grab the Pokemon with their bare hands.

"Ow! It bit me!" a grunt yelled.

 _Yep, it's better to know what I"m doing first._ Sonya thought to herself.

Suddenly, a sound caught her attention.

"Pika!"

 _A Pikachu?_ Sonya asked.

Yep, sure enough, there was a Pikachu in the training field.

 _I wonder if anyone's going to try to catch that._ Sonya thought, a little smile forming on her face.

She would have tried it herself, but she wasn't stupid. If her Pokemon couldn't beat it, she would probably get shocked and draw attention to herself. Plus, she already had a Pikachu and a Raichu that she received as Pichu from her parents. They were practically appalled when they heard the scientist helped her evolve them into Pikachu, and they were livid when they discovered that she went a step further and purchased a thunderstone to evolve one of the Pikachu into a Raichu.

 _I miss my Raichu_. _If Raichu were here, I could probably catch all of the Pokemon here._ Sonya thought.

Of course, Sonya had never caught a wild Pokemon on her own before, outside of field tests in the lab, through battle or otherwise.


	9. Chapter 9

The instructor blew a whistle, and everyone lined up and presented their quarry.

"Those of your who managed to catch a Pokemon, congratulations. You've completed this segment of your training. Those of you didn't will be held back and retrained, but if you fail to complete your task by tomorrow, there may be more serious consequences," the instructor said coldly.

Viper walked down the line and pulled Sonya and Mindy aside.

"Sonya, Mindy, good job. Now, report to the cafe for kitchen duty," Viper said.

Mindy groaned.

"I was kind of hoping he would forget about that," Mindy whispered.

Sonya smiled nervously.

...

Sonya and Mindy made their way to the back of the now dimly lit cafeteria. They were greeted by several stacks of dirty dishes; some of the stacks were almost as tall as they were!

Calmly Sonya took a plate and began scrubbing. At least washing dishes was a familiar chore. Sonya thought of how she did the dishes at home and how Raichu tried to help out.

 _I really miss my Raichu and Pikachu. I hope I get them back soon._ She thought.

The Team Rocket trainee put her hands in the warm soapy water and sighed. This is the last place she ever thought she would see herself, and she quietly wondered if she would survive the rest of training or be able to adjust to life as a member.

 _Will I really have to go through with this? Maybe there's a way out. Maybe someone will rescue me...maybe Team Rocket will get shut down._

The thought made her shiver.

 _They've never been caught in the past, though. Oh why did I sign that contract? Maybe if I just would have read the fine print a little more closely I wouldn't even be in this mess!_

Sonya looked at the suds in the water and continued absentmindedly rubbing the plate.

 _Maybe I can escape somehow? No, they probably have spies everywhere. I remember how easily the recruiter practically told me my life story. Besides, they might also target my family. Mindy said..._

Just then, Sonya felt warm water splash her face.

"Hey! Earth to Sonny! You've been scrubbing that same plate for almost an hour!" Mindy's shrill voice pierced the solitude of her concentration.

Sonya looked at her with a slightly annoyed expression. She felt like she was getting a tiny headache.

"...besides, we can go now!" Mindy said.

"...but, we haven't finished?" Sonya said cautiously.

"Do you see anyone watching?" Mindy asked.

"No, but that doesn't mean..." Sonya said.

"It means we can sneak out!" Mindy said.

"but..." Sonya said.

"'but," "but," you can stay here if you want, scaredy Skitty, but I've got better things to do with my time," Mindy said.

Cautiously, Sonya continued rubbing the plate while Mindy tried to leave.

 _Mindy and her harebrained schemes. I hope she doesn't get me into more trouble than I'm already in._ Sonya thought.

She continued rubbing the plate and side-eyed Mindy.

 _Is it even possible for me to get into more trouble than I'm already in?_ She thought.

Just then, Sonya felt cold water being sprayed on her. She dropped the plate and looked up in shock. Suddenly, she felt someone grab her hand. She looked up to see Mindy grinning like a Persian and tugging at her, hard.

"No, not this time, I won't..." Sonya protested. She tried to dig her heels in to get a good grip. Mindy was strong, though, and she felt herself moving against her will.

"It's...time...you...got...out...of...that...sheltered...little...comfort...zone..." Mindy grunted.

Sonya tried to stand her ground. She leaned backwards, made herself heavy, and wouldn't budge.

"No! We're already in enough trouble," Sonya said.

Mindy, however, continued tugging.

"Come on; you...can't...be...a...goodie...two...shoes...and...a...member...of...Team...Rocket..." Mindy said.

Sonya was beginning to get nervous.

 _Why is she making so much noise? What if someone hears us?_ Sonya thought.

Just then, she heard footsteps.

"Fine then, have it your way," Mindy said.

Sonya promptly felt Mindy loosen her grip. Without warning, she felt herself sliding backwards and into a stack of plates.

"Crash!"

Just then, a Pokemon appeared, followed by a man in a black Team Rocket uniform.

"Machoke!"

"What's all of this commotion?" the older grunt asked.

Mindy laughed sheepishly and pointed at Sonya; she just rubbed her head, not really sure what was going on.

"You two, report to disciplinary tomorrow-and finish those dishes! When I come back, I better be able to see my face in all of 'em!" the grunt commanded.

Mindy pulled out a dirty lasagna pan.

"This one kind of looks like him, don't cha think, Sonny?" Mindy asked in a whisper.

Sonya frowned at Mindy and silently went back to cleaning the dishes.

Mindy sighed.

"Aw, you're no fun today!" Mindy said.

Sonya looked at her with a frustrated grimace before turning back to the warm soapy water.

 _I hope I live through this._ Sonya thought.

* * *

Kitchen duty lasted a few excruciating hours. Not only was she sore from scrubbing plates, but she also had a headache from Mindy's incessant chatter. She eyed the cleanly made bed and then looked at her wrinkled hands.

 _I didn't know one place could have that many dirty dishes._ Sonya thought.

She looked at the clock. It read 8:30.

 _I better get to bed soon._ Sonya thought.

Then, memories from the day's lecture came back to her.

 _How do you catch a Pokemon without battling it?_

There were many other things she could have occupied herself with, like an escape plan for one, but she was having a lot of trouble coming up with anything she felt like she could use. Plus, she was at least a little curious about the day's lecture.

She grabbed her textbook, titled Pokemon Survival Skills and turned to the index.

"How to catch Pokemon without a Poke Ball? Okay. How to catch Pokemon without a Pokemon battle-page 543!" Sonya said to herself.

Sonya turned to the page and began reading. Textbooks were calming and familiar.

 _Sometimes, a Pokemon trainer encounters Pokemon that will refuse to battle when confronted and will instead just run away. For these instances, a trainer should familiarize himself with the skill of catching without battling. There are ways to catch a wild Pokemon without weakening it first. These include, using special Poke Balls with high catch rates, feeding the Pokemon, taking advantage of naturally occurring status changes-for example capturing a Pokemon that was injured by another Pokemon, getting the wild Pokemon to capture itself, and providing distractions._

Sonya furrowed her brow at the textbook and continued reading.

After a while, she remembered the Poke Ball that Mindy gave her.

 _Hmm...I wonder?_ Sonya thought.

Cautiously, she threw the Poke Ball on the ground.

"Rattata!" the Pokemon called.

Sonya looked at it for a few brief minutes before recalling it and putting it back on her belt.

 _Well, at least I have a Pokemon._ _I don't know what good a Rattata could do me against an army of Rocket grunts, though._ Sonya thought.

She put her head back and sighed.

 _...and I've got classes tomorrow. I wonder what they're going to cover this time? I wonder what class Mindy had me skip._ Sonya asked herself.

She turned and looked back at her bed.

 _I wonder if I'm ever really going to be able to leave Team Rocket? I guess they haven't really been that bad to me, and I can't seem to come up with a good escape plan that won't potentially put me in a lot of danger._

Sonya sighed again.

 _I guess I'm stuck._

She turned back to the pile of textbooks.

 _I guess I might as well make the best of it._ Sonya thought.


	10. Chapter 10

Sonya studied until she couldn't keep her eyes open. She woke up to another shrill sound of the wake up call.

She groggily rolled over and looked at the clock.

 _3:58 AM_

At this rate, she wasn't even going to have enough time to think of an escape plan.

The young teenager groaned as she forced herself out of bed and into the line.

Mindy caught up with her, as usual.

"Hey, Scaredy Skitty, how'd you sleep?" Mindy asked.

Sonya didn't respond and instead turned to face Mindy with a dark scowl on her face.

Mindy started to say something, but then closed her mouth.

Lack of sleep and constantly being ordered around was already taking its toll on Sonya, and she was especially agitated today. She glared at Mindy and dared her to say something stupid.

For a while, Mindy seemed to take the hint. Instead of walking beside Sonya, like she usually did, she allowed herself to fall back in line with her group.

 _Well, at least that's one headache I don't have to deal with today_. Sonya thought.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and tried to deal with a small pain she was getting. She yawned deeply, making sure to cover her mouth. She hoped no one noticed.

"Hey, doll, are you hung over or what?" one of the older grunts asked as they passed.

"Yeah, from studying, you?" Sonya quipped.

She had had enough of all of this. If they were going to be mean to her, she could be mean right back to them. Plus, she was so tired she hardly noticed she was acting differently. She just knew she didn't feel like moving, and, yet, here she was, marching in a line, going to a classroom where the "students" would probably talk over the lecture and she would miss all of it and have to go home and study after doing so much work in the kitchen that she was nearly too exhausted to move!

She bristled and growled as she made her zombie like march to the training room.

Just then, Mindy found her way to her line again.

Sonya groaned in displeasure.

"What's your problem today, Grumpig?" Mindy asked.

Instead of answering, she just stared at the overly energetic red head.

"Anyway, we better hurry off to class. I hear we have special guest speakers!" Mindy said.

"Oh goody..." Sonya said in a whisper.

 _Even more Team Rocket goons telling me what to do._

Sonya looked around, expecting to see Mindy close by. She was planning to let her have it, but she just disappeared.

Groggily, she continued marching with her group.

To her surprise, they marched right past the training room and into one of the dimly lit corridors, where she got lost her first day.

Just walking through these halls made her feel uneasy.

"Where are we going?" Sonya asked. She sounded irritated, and the harshness of her voice even surprised her.

"Don't ask me," one grunt answered

"To see some guest speaker; that's all I know," another grunt replied.

They continued marching until they found themselves into a large pitch black room. The leader instructed them all to sit down.

Sonya was reluctant, as she couldn't see anything. She took a whiff of the air and then two or three nice deep breaths. The room didn't smell new, but it did smell clean.

Just then, the lights flashed on, nearly blinding the occupants. It was Viper and that weird instructor guy.

"Welcome, recruits, to Team Rocket's fifth annual career day celebration! Today you will hear stories from past recruits," Viper said.

"We ask that you find your seats quickly, as the lights will be off for the duration of the presentation, so as not to cause any...undue damage to our current agents," the instructor said.

"Cool! translation, we're all going to be meeting some wanted criminals! You should so get teacher of the year!" Mindy shouted.

Her outburst won her some giggles and cheers from her classmates, while Viper just glared.

Sonya sank into her seat. This was _not_ what she wanted to deal with today.

The lights went back down.

She didn't know what to expect and briefly thought about sneaking out before remembering kitchen duty and promptly deciding that was a bad idea.

A song started playing over the speakers.

" _Prepare for trouble; make it double..."_

Then, there was something that sounded like a loud base guitar. A tiny sliver of light came on, enough for her to see-smoke effects?

" _To protect the world from devastation..."_

 _"To unite all peoples within our nation..."_

Sonya recognized the song from when she first arrived at the bunks.

 _"Jessie!"_

 _"James!"_

" _Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light..."_

 _"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"_

 _"Meowth! That's right!"_

Now, the music was in full swing.

Pop! Pop!

Sonya briefly felt like ducking for cover until she realized they were just fireworks.

 _Fireworks inside of a building?_ she thought.

" _Team Rocket's rocking...talking trouble, big trouble, gonna follow you..."_

The crowd was laughing and cheering, as the smoke started to rise. Sonya was watching because she was more concerned about a fire, but briefly, she was able to make out the outline of the people singing-a man, a woman, and a Meowth?

"Good morning future Rockets and Rockettes!" a man's voice shouted.

"We would like ta congratulate youse on makin da best decision a your nine lives!"

"Welcome to a life beyond the reach of the law..." a woman's voice said.

"Heh ha we own dis town!" another voice said.

"...and pretty soon we'll own the world..." a woman's voice said.

"With a penchant for pilfering powerful Pokemon, how could we lose?" a man's voice said.

Sonya was focusing on the second male voice; there was something strangely familiar about it-

 _The talking Meowth?_ Sonya thought, realization suddenly hitting her.

Curiosity was eating away at her. She just had to get a closer look.

 _No wonder they didn't want the lights on._ She thought.

Carefully, she tried to peer at the guest speakers. It was no use, though. The room was now pitch back again.

"...and now, we would like to-" a man's voice said.

There was a pause while someone whispered something inaudible into the microphone.

"What? The Pikachu? Here?" the man asked.

"Oh well, looks like it's time for this Team Rocket to blast off. Sorry we don't have time for questions!" the woman said.

"Da life of a field agent, it's a busy one, but I wouldn't trade it fur da world, unless maybe da boss agreed ta make me his lap Pokemon," the other male voice said.

 _Pokemon?_ Sonya thought.

"Ha ha...you love making jokes, don't you...gotta go!" the woman's voice interrupted.

"Bye bye, everyone!" the man's voice said.

With that, there was another flash and a little more smoke.

Sonya and the other recruits were temporarily blinded as the agents made their exits.

"Dat was close," she heard the other male voice say.

"Why couldn't you have just stayed with Mondo?" she heard another male say.

"What? and miss my big celebration?" the other male voice asked.

She coughed and blinked, trying to get her focus back, but by the time she could see clearly, they were long gone.

"Aw man, my eyes!" a grunt complained.

Her head started hurting again, and she remembered how tired and irritable she was. She groaned and sighed.

The lights suddenly came back on, and everyone again shielded their eyes.

"I'm sorry, everyone, it seems our first guests had last minute business to take care of and had to leave early; don't worry, though, we have plenty of others today,"

Sonya sat pinching the bridge of her nose and rubbing her head.

Just then, something, or someone, settled into the chair next to her with a loud thud. It was Mindy.

"I hope this presentation is better than I think it is, right Sonny?"

Sonya just sighed. This was going to be a very long day.


	11. Chapter 11

Sonya drifted in and out of sleep as she drowsily watched the other field agents give their speeches and welcome the new recruits.

Suddenly she felt a hard punch.

"Wake up, Scardey Skitty, you're going to miss the best part of the presentation," Mindy whispered.

Groggily, Sonya sat up in her chair.

"Ugh, if I hear 'prepare for trouble, make it double' one more time..." Sonya groaned, sleepily.

"I know; they should really think of some new material," a random grunt in the audience agreed.

Just then, as if on cue the lights dimmed and that familiar headache inducing track started playing again.

The familiar sound of heels clicking echoed from the stage.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!"

Sonya groaned, buried her head in her hands, and sighed.

She felt Mindy shake her.

"Wake up, Sonny, it's Cassidy!" Mindy shouted.

Sonya sat up, rubbed her eyes, and squinted at the pair of Rocket agents. She suddenly opened her eyes wide in realization, a cold chill washed over her as she listened to them recite the motto. She felt herself shaking and wanted to run away.

"Drowzee!"

Cassidy's Drowzee teleported to the stage in a flash.

"What's wrong?" Mindy asked. She was more curious than concerned.

Sonya tried not to cry as she watched the Rocket agents and relived the horror that happened in the lab. She fought herself, swallowed her tears, and sat frozen in her chair. She couldn't stop herself from shaking and lightly sobbing.

"Sonny, calm down, people are starting to stare!" Mindy shouted.

Mindy's voice echoed through the quiet room, and curious eyes started glancing at the obviously terrified Rocket trainee. Laughter began to fill the auditorium.

Butch and Cassidy stared at their audience, wondering what all of the commotion was about.

"Drowzee? Drow-zee?" the Pokemon asked.

Cassidy's Drowzee began making hand signals and repeating different syllables of its name.

"What's it saying?" Butch asked.

"Do I look like a Pokemon whisperer to you, Biff?" Cassidy asked.

"Drow-zee. Drowzee," the Pokemon said.

The Drowzee pointed to the shaking sobbing Rocket grunt.

Cassidy smiled.

"Drowzee, teleport!" Cassidy ordered.

"Zee!" the Pokemon yelled with a nod.

In a flash, Sonya and Mindy found themselves on stage.

"Wow!" Mindy shouted.

Mindy looked around to see a Drowzee with Cassidy slyly grinning beside it.

"This is so cool, isn't it Sonny?" Mindy asked.

There was more laughter from the audience.

Sonya was still shaking and refused to answer.

Cassidy walked up to Sonya and put her hand under her chin.

"Now, now, it's okay, sweetie," Cassidy said.

Sonya felt Cassidy's gloved hand and heard her soft voice. Little chills, this time not of fear, again ran over her skin. She relaxed a little and stopped shaking. She was still sobbing uncontrollably, though.

"We just can't have you interrupting the show,"

Sonya continued shaking and sobbing.

Mindy scoffed.

"Sonny, this is so embarrassing," Mindy said.

"Goodbye for now, kids!" Cassidy said with a laugh.

Sonya winced

Mindy sighed.

"Drowzee, you know what to do!"

Sonya and Mindy were suddenly surrounded by light and teleported away from the stage. They landed with a thud outside the locked auditorium.

Mindy groaned.

"You got us kicked out!"

Sonya gave a sigh of relief.

"Just what's your problem anyway?" Mindy asked.

The relief suddenly turned into annoyance as her headache and tiredness returned.

"Nothing, just nothing," Sonya replied.

Mindy huffed and crossed her arms.

"Fine! Be that way; see if I care!" Mindy said.

She then noticed that Sonya was walking away.

"Hey! Sonny, come back!" Mindy shouted as she ran to catch up.

The two girls found themselves walking down a familiar long dark path.

"Where are we now? We better not be lost!" Mindy shouted.

Sonya just gave a sigh.

"I'm going back to my room," Sonya said.

"...and miss the rest of the presentation?" Mindy asked.

There was no answer.

"Ditching the assembly? That's...the coolest thing you've done since I've known you! There's hope for you as a Team Rocket member, yet!"

Sonya suddenly found herself in a strong embrace. She groaned and pushed her away as they continued walking.

"You know, we're probably going to get into a lot of trouble for this!" Mindy said.

Suddenly, a flash light was flicked on.

"Did someone say "trouble?" a voice asked.

"Uh-oh; it's the hall monitor. I wouldn't be worried if this were some ordinary stock boy, but he's good friends with Viper," Mindy whispered to Sonya.

"What kind of trouble, exactly, miss?" the boy said.

The cart rolled into the dim light and there stood a brown haired boy in a white Team Rocket uniform, the same boy from earlier.

"You weren't thinking about leaving the assembly?" the boy asked.

Sonya and Mindy shook their heads.

"We were just...lost. That's it, lost," Mindy said.

"Lost, eh? Luckily for you, I'm going that way," the boy said.

Sonya wasn't sure, but it looked like he was scowling at them. The boy's voice didn't sound friendly at all.

Sonya and Mindy about-faced and walked back to the auditorium, the squeaky cart wheels whistling behind them.

"I knew you weren't brave enough to ditch," Mindy whispered.

Sonya scoffed.

"You know; this sudden change of attitude is getting really annoying," Mindy said.

Sonya groaned.

The cart stopped; they were back at the auditorium. The boy took out his keys and let them in the back door.

Light from the room flooded in and temporarily blinded the pair.

Everyone was standing and talking. It must have been over.

Just then, a voice rang out from the stage.

"...and don't forget, tomorrow you will all be paired with your agents for your first mission!"

"Agents? mission? did we miss something important?" Mindy asked.

Sonya sighed.

"Oh, yeah, while you two were gone, they gave us all assignments. Turns out those agents weren't just here to put on a good show," a random grunt said.

"Who were we...paired with?" Mindy asked.

"Don't know," the grunt replied.


	12. Chapter 12

Mondo and Meowth slowly crept toward one of the offices of the main admin.

"I wonda what Arianna wanted wit us?" Meowth asked.

"I'm not sure, Meowth," Mondo said.

The stock boy who also served as the unofficial hall monitor for the new recruits slowly pushed his cart toward the main hall. Meowth perched himself on the handle to get a better view of his surroundings.

"So...why did you guys leave the assembly before meeting the new recruits?" Mondo asked.

"Wha? You heard about dat?" Meowth asked.

"Who didn't? What was the emergency?" Mondo asked.

"We thought a certain Pokemon trainer infiltrated da base. Dere were reports about a Pikachu running loose," Meowth said.

"That Pikachu and his trainer, here?" Mondo said.

"Dat's what we thought. Turns out it was a false alarm, though. Some a dose guards can't tell Pikachu from Rattata," Meowth said.

"I see," Mondo said with a small sigh.

The two arrived at Arianna's office. They opened the door to be greeted by dim lights and cold air.

Meowth's eyes narrowed.

"What gives? Did somebody forget ta pay da electricity bill?" Meowth asked.

"They always keep it like this for some reason," Mondo said.

The boy was shivering a little.

"I tank dey just like ta make us feel uneasy," Meowth said.

Mondo's teeth started to chatter.

"I guess I have da advantage here seeing as I'm da one wit da fur," Meowth said.

"I-I s-still th-think I s-should d-do the t-talking," Mondo said.

"Be my guest," Meowth said.

Just then, the lights flicked on.

"Ah, just the Pokemon I wanted to see," Arianna said.

"I'm not sure why you wanted to see, Meowth, miss, but here he is," Mondo said.

Meowth put on his full normal cat Pokemon act and offered his paw in a gesture of greeting while sitting on all fours.

"Meowth!" Meowth said.

"You can stop the act, Meowth," Arianna said.

"Miss, I'm not sure what you-" Mondo said.

"Quiet. I know all about Meowth's special talents; that's why I called you here," Arianna said.

Meowth stopped licking himself.

"Giovanni ordered this little assignment, so I know everything," Arianna said.

The cat Pokemon's eyes grew wide.

"You do?" Meowth asked, suddenly forgetting his act.

Mondo sighed and gave the cat Pokemon a worried look.

"Yes, I do. Your talents would be most appreciated with a couple of new confiscated Pokemon that came in a few weeks ago. Our retraining efforts aren't working. They seem pretty strong willed, and you know what we do with strong-willed Pokemon that won't follow orders if they aren't of value to us," Arianna said.

Meowth nodded.

"We were thinking about destroying them, but then we remembered you and were hoping maybe you could...persuade them," Arianna said.

"Show us da Pokemon," Meowth said.

Arianna had a grunt lead Meowth and Mondo to a room with a large metal cage. Inside, two electric mouse Pokemon were growling their names and charging their cheeks.

"Pikachu!"

"Rai! Rai!"

"Wow, those Pokemon do not look happy," Mondo said.

"No joke," Meowth said.

The cat Pokemon walked over to the cage.

"Meowth? Meowth?"

"Rai? Raichu?"

"Meowth. Meowth,"

"Raichu chu..."

"What are they saying, Meowth?" Mondo asked.

"Dey're saying dey want ta go back to dere owner," Meowth said.

"What did you tell 'em?" Mondo asked.

"I told 'em we can't do dat," Meowth said.

"Chu! Pika!"

A little Pikachu, who had been silent and cowering behind the Raichu stepped out and loudly started voicing her opinion.

"You say youse two broke out and went lookin fa your trainer? She's on da base?" Meowth asked.

"Pika-chu," the Pikachu answered.

"So, do you think this is the Pikachu you saw, Meowth?" Mondo asked.

"I'm not sure," Meowth said.

"Pika?" the Pikachu asked.

"If there's a Pokemon trainer on base, though, dat could be bad news. We should warn everyone else," Meowth said.

"Raichu...Rai..."

"Huh? What da you mean 'she's a member?" Meowth asked.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked, confusion in her tone.

"Raichu, Rai, Raich chu..." Raichu said.

"What's going on now?" Mondo asked.

"Raichu says dat dere trainer joined Team Rocket and left 'em here," Meowth said.

"So, your trainer is one of the trainees?" Mondo asked.

"Raichu...Rai," the Pokemon said, nodding his head.

"Raichu says he heard all of it from his Poke Ball; she gave 'em to Team Rocket and den just walked away," Meowth said.

"How irresponsible! They wouldn't happen to remember the name of this trainer turned trainee would they?" Mondo asked.

"Meowth?"

"Chu...Raichu chu..."

"Sonya Clearwater," Meowth said.

"That name seems familiar to me; I think I know how to find her," Mondo said.

"Pika? Pika-chu?"

"Rai? Raichu...chu!"

"Dey said dey would be most grateful if you'd help 'em out," Meowth said.

Mondo sighed.

"Let's report back to Arianna and explain the situation. Maybe she'll let us take 'em?" Mondo asked.

"Meowth thinks you're too optimistic, kid...Team Rocket doesn't just give back Pokemon, but I think I know what ta say. Leave da talkin ta me-owth," Meowth said.

Mondo nodded.

"You're the boss," Mondo said.


End file.
